Day 9 in the kitchen at BALLYMALOE

Another wonderful day here at Ballymaloe. I started the day off making a salad, which I took a picture of again because it was so beautiful. This time I added some purple flowers along with all the yellow and orange ones. The colors are magnificent and the taste is too. I then went to make strawberry jam, which is a bit more complicated then raspeberry. Strawberries don't have much pectin in them, but by adding lemon juice or red currant juice, a thicker consistency is created. My friend Annette, who I took a photo of(green apron), has taught me the tricks of making jam . She's a machine in the kitchen. It's amazing to see what she accomplishes in one day alone.

Lunch was another unbelievable meal.
The desserts were Chocolate Fudge Pudding with whipped cream and a Fluffy Lemon Pudding.Two different desserts, equally delicious. Oh My Goodness!

I was able to attend another demonstration this afternoon where I learned how to make:
Chick Pea Soup with Greens
Potato and Mushroom Gratin
Abergine(eggplant) with Tomatoe Fondue (photo)
Irish Coffee Meringue
Lemon Posset ( a pudding made with only cream, lemon and sugar)
Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes (photo)
The soup was incredibly flavorful and simple. The eggplant dish is out of this world and another very easy recipe. The lemon posset is something I could bath in with a good rinse afterwards.

I took a picture of my friend Bogamella (sp?), in the red top, who is a master at flower arrangements. She's the one who graces the tables with beautiful flowers from the gardens. And another photo is of my wonderful friend Helen, who is Matilda's and Louie's mom (the sweet family from Ballycotton in one of the blogs).

Some of the other photos are random shots of vegatables and herbs that had just come in from the garden. The colors are so vibrant. I also took a picture of the strawberry jam I made (in jars), meringue cookies that were laying around and some yummy granola that just came out of the oven.

It's been raining all day, however, I have no complaints because this has been the first day it's rained since being in Ireland.
Stay tuned for my last day here at Ballymaloe.
XXOO